Russian Industry Minister Praises Rebounding Trade With EU

Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov on Wednesday praised the resurging trade between Russia and the European Union, which is on course to rebound and strive for the historical peak of 2014

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2019) Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov on Wednesday praised the resurging trade between Russia and the European Union, which is on course to rebound and strive for the historical peak of 2014.

"If we take the results of last year, over this period of time we have increased mutual trade to $300 billion, but to reach the historic maximum that we had before this, in 2014, the volume amounted to $400 billion, we still need to work well together. At the same time, investments are also increasing. We have about $260 billion on each side. From Russia and Europe and from the European Union to Russia. This once again shows that companies from Europe and our Russian trading companies are interested in joint development," Manturov said at a meeting with EU ambassadors.

He added that the worst year for Russia-EU trade was 2016, two years after relations took a turn for the worse in the wake of the rift over the war in Ukraine and the Crimean referendum. Russia's priority now, according to Manturov, is to focus on improving its investment climate and creating a favorable business environment.

Since 2014, Brussels hit Russia with multiple sanctions, including economic ones that severely affected trade and business cooperation. Moscow was accusing of illegally annexing Crimea and fomenting the war in east Ukraine, a charge it has denied, stressing the legality of the Crimean referendum and saying it has no part in Ukraine's civil strife. It also hit back with sanctions, targeting imports from EU states.